Shattered Trust
by Comana
Summary: Levi seldomly showed any emotions at all, but now, his face was etched in deep and absolute fury. "Listen closely you little piece of trash traitor, I will only ask you once why you did what you did, and I want the absolute truth," his voice was dripping with hate, and Eren was at first too overwhelmed to realize that he couldn't even answer because of a gag in his mouth.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I own nothing of Attack on Titan

Warnings: This fic has Levi in it, so violence. And this fic has Levi in it, so foul language. Lots of foul language.

 **Chapter 1 - Prologue**

The first thing he noticed when he came around was the unbearable throbbing in his head. As his vision cleared, slowly the familiar shape of captain Levi, strangely upside down, and leaning against a barely lit wall materialized in his vision.

A tight knot nestled itself inside Eren's gut when he saw the look on the captain's face. Levi seldomly showed any emotions at all, but now, his face was etched in deep and absolute fury.

"Listen closely you little piece of shit traitor, I will only ask you once why you did what you did, and I want the absolute truth," his voice was dripping with hate, and Eren was at first too overwhelmed to realize that he couldn't even speak because a gag had been placed inside his mouth.

 _What was happening?_

Eren tried his hardest to remember what on earth could have brought him into this hell of a situation, but the fear that shot through his body and nestled itself in his brain kept him from thinking clearly.

Levi pushed off the wall he was leaning on and left Eren's field of vision, the clicking of his boots indicating that he was still very close and now behind Eren. He tried to keep his sight on him, because Eren was certain that the captain in such a mood was deadlier than any aberrant titan.

He couldn't turn his head, all Eren managed was that the barely lit room – or by the look of it, dungeon - slowly swung left and right.

The pulsing in his ears became unbearable when he realized that he was hanging from the ceiling, suspended by his ankles like a carcass.

The comparison made him want to retch, and he was barely able to stop himself and with that stop himself from asphyxiation because of the gag.

"Tsk. Now you regret, as soon as it's your own ass that's on the line. You should have thought about the consequences earlier, fucker," he punctuated his last word with a kick to Eren's kidneys that sent him spinning and groaning into his gag.

He was put to a halt by two strong hands on his shirt. As soon as his vision cleared from the spinning, he looked awkwardly up at Levi's face still dominated by anger and fury. Eren tried to talk to him through the gag, trying to make him stop so that he could explain himself. Telling him that he only needed a moment to _just think_ about what happened, that he couldn't remember just yet, and that it was likely all just a misunderstanding. He realized that his hands were still free and tried to pry the captain's hand's away, but Eren was too weak and Levi relentless.

The captain only raised one eyebrow at the sad display. A contemptuous snort escaped him. "Yes, now you're ready to talk, but if you had listened to what I said earlier, you'd have realized that I didn't ask the question yet," a sadistic smile spread on his face, "and I won't for a while, so just stay where you are and hold still. "

Eren panicked. This was all completely crazy. He screamed into his gag to make Levi stop, to at least remove the gag that he could defend himself, but the captain relished the fear in his eyes and delivered a hard kick to Eren's ribcage.

A whimper escaped Eren and he tried to block Levi's next kick that aimed for his torso. But he was too slow and uncoordinated to achieve anything. He let his hands fall back, dangling hopelessly towards the dirty ground in defet. It hurt, as Levi maltreated his body systematically, hitting one sensitive spot after another. Between the pain, Eren wondered how Levi was so adept in torture, because that was exactly what he put him through in the moment. He winced after a particularly mean blow in his guts and wondered why the ground and his face were wet. His entire body pulsed in agony and Eren could only hope that Levi would tire anytime soon or find some gleam of mercy inside his soul.

But Levi continued hitting and beating Eren, oblivious to the muffled screams and later sobs coming from his prisoner. Eren's foggy mind realized, just before slipping into unconsciousness, that Levi deliberately refrained from inflicting open wounds. He didn't want Eren to shift into a titan. And then it hit him. The thought of shifting into a titan provoked a landslide of memories to jumble into his mind. And shortly before unconsciousness claimed him, one thought remained. He probably deserved this.

* * *

AN: Soo…any guesses? What could Eren have possibly done to earn this? Please leave a review if you liked this chapter, it keeps me motivated and helps me to update sooner :). Also, constructive criticism is always welcome, including my English, as it's not my first language and I always try to get better. Thanks for reading!


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

 _Four days earlier_

Levi took another stack of documents and sorted it to the finished ones. He sighed, already regretting his offer to Erwin to help with the paperwork. The Commander didn't let him supervise the trainig yet because his leg wasn't fully healed. Levi understood the forced break, since his leg still hurt when he strained it to the side, however he didn't need to like it.

But what Levi hated even more than being unable to use the 3DMG was doing nothing, and after one day of forced bedrest after he overworked his leg when he cut Eren out of his titan, he couldn't stand it anymore.

Erwin happily obliged and let a makeshift bureau being erected in a former bedroom. The survey corps' garrison in Stohess was rather small, so they had to adapt.

Levi sighed again when he looked at the other stacks of paper that he still had to work off. He had no idea how Erwin managed to complete all this paperwork. Sure, Levi helped him here and there, and he had enough documents to supervise and sign himself, but it was nothing compared to the mountains he had to sort through now. Well, it did surely not help that Erwin had to go to meeting after meeting to answer to the officials and the rest of the higher-up snobs.

Levi had offered to accompany the Commander, but Erwin had insisted, with a glint of humor in his eyes, that these meetings required a lot of diplomacy and reservation, and taking Levi with him would most likely end with Erwin not just removed from office, but maybe even his execution. Levi had just shrugged, but internally, he was agitated as hell. The future of the entire Survey Corps was on the line. But Erwin had once more proved how adept he was at handling the authority, for until now, the meetings had worked out.

Levi took the next document in hand. Some scribbler of the Garrison wanted to know about the yearly usage of flour, eggs, vegetables and meat. Just great. Levi sorted it to the regrettably ever-growing pile of documents he couldn't finish yet. He leaned back in the hard chair and rubbed at his temple.

A knock on the door let him look back up. It was early afternoon, so everybody should be busy outside with training or chores.

"Yes?"

Eren Jaeger carefully opened the door. Behind him were two more people that he couldn't make out in the dim light yet, but they were clearly unsure if they were allowed in or not.

"Come in. What is it?" Levi was not sure if he should be glad about the interruption of the boring work or annoyed because the three new recruits most likely were here because of some unimportant shit nobody else had time for.

The two other recruits and Eren shuffled inside, and Levi recognized the other two as Reiner Braun and Berthold Hoover, cadets from Eren's training squad. Levi hadn't seen enough of them to judge their abilities yet, but they had been among the best soldiers of their squad.

"Well…?", Levi asked when none of the three started to talk, shooting them an annoyed glance.

Eren was the first to react, "Captain, it's just that Berthold and Reiner have a theory about how we could get Annie out of the crystal, and I thought that you should hear it."

Levi raised his eyebrows. This might get interesting. "And how did two of our new recruits suddenly become titan experts?" Levi wanted to make sure if they were serious or if they would back down quickly.

The large but timid boy Hoover took one step forward. "Captain Levi, I don't know if somebody already had that theory, but since you, Squad Leader Hange and the Commander are the only people allowed near Annie, only you could test it. You see –"

"And why don't you go to Squad Leader Hange with that? Do I look like a crazy titan scientist to you?" Levi interrupted the boy before he could ramble along, maybe he could get this task handed to Hange still.

"We searched for her," Eren supported Hoover, who stood there daunted, mouth still open, "but she's not on base. Officer Moblit told us that she went for special supplies and that it could take a while, so we decided to come to you."

Eren seemed to be even more nervous than he normally was around Levi, but he chalked it up to Eren still being insecure because he let Annie crystallize and the mission failed.

Levi sighed again and shot a glance at the documents that he still had to get through. "Ok, start talking," he resigned to his new task.

Hoover and Braun looked at each other and took another step forward. Hoover continued, slight sheen of sweat on his face. "So, everybody knows that titans live off light. And I think that Annie is in some kind of energy saving state, like some frogs do in winter. They basically freeze over to save energy. It could be, that with Titans, it is the same. Maybe Annie is in some kind of hibernation –"

"This knowledge doesn't help us with getting her out of her crystal now, does it?" Levi grew impatient. Everybody could see that Annie was in a state of hibernation, you did not need to be a genius to see that.

But Hoover did not back down. "No, but if the titans are like those animals, they still need energy. Very little, but still. What if Annie, to maintain her crystal, needs a minimum of light. If we covered her crystal up," Hoover gesticulated wildly, "maybe for a longer period of time, since she might have some energy saved, maybe the crystal will break or show a weakness, or something…" his voice trailed off, hopeful look fixed at Levi.

It was not a completely dumb theory, Levi had to admit. And it was relatively easy to check. There seemed to be more as Hoover nestled in a duffel bag that he was carrying. He produced a small book.

"I found this in the library. It also indicates that titans can fall into a low energy state…" he held the book in a nervously shaking hand and Levi took it, examining the opened page. It was indeed about titans, but as Levi could see, the page was about variations in their physiology. He looked back up at Hoover and realized that something was amiss. Hoover looked exceptionally nervous and Braun wasn't standing to his right anymore like he had done during the whole conversation.

Levi's instincts kicked in when he saw a sudden movement from the corner of his left eye. He jumped from his chair and drew aside, but in between the wall and his desk, he couldn't evade Braun's attack completely. The recruit had flung himself at Levi and got him in the shoulder. Levi had no idea what the fuck was going on, but if nothing else, he could rely on his instincts, honed during his time in the Underground.

When he and Braun hit the wall, the taller recruit pressing him against it, his palm met Braun's nose in a hard upward thrust, and he felt a satisfying snap. He used the blonde's momentary shock and drove his knee between his legs, wincing when his wohle weight momentarily rested on his injured leg. The taller man groaned and sunk down.

Levi spun around and saw Hoover come for him while Eren stood frozen in the corner, shocked expression on his face. Levi readied himself, and when Hoover charged at him, he ducked under the tall man, grabbed his arm and pushed up when the boy was over him, sending him sprawling on his back.

"Eren," he shouted as he spun back to Braun, "do something, idiot!"

Reiner Braun was already back on his feet, the insecurity he had shown earlier replaced by a grim determination that made him look at least ten years older. He was a better fighter than Hoover, Levi could see it in his stance, he assessed Levi and the room before he started his next attack, this time more deliberate, as he had lost the advantage of surprise.

He blocked Reiner's fist with his hand, noting the strength behind it. Levi hooked his leg behind Reiner's, trying to throw his opponent and get out of the disadvantageous position in front of the wall, but Reiner blocked his grip and landed a hard punch in Levi's face. His arm came up to the Captain's throat and Levi needed both of his hands to keep it from strangling him. His cheek pulsed with fire and both their arms pushing against each other forced them into a stalemate. However, Levi knew that it would only last until Hoover picked himself up or Eren would finally come to his senses and help him. He wanted to shout at the brat again when he realized something else. A thin pillar of steam rose up from Reiner's bloody broken nose, and hell, Levi had seen and also felt that steam often enough to know what it meant.

They were fucking shifters. And they were recruits in the Survey Corps.

"You goddamn traitors!" Levi shoved at the arm pinning him against the wall. He managed to push Reiner away enough to get his hand on the hidden knife at his hip. If they wanted to fight him they'd have to live with the consequences.

Something nagged at the back of his mind, but Levi was too preoccupied with holding Reiner's arm back with only his left hand as his opponent continued pushing. He was about to operate an upwards strike with the knife, straight to the shifter's throat. However, another hand clamped around his wrist before he could move and clashed his hand against the wall, three times until Levi's fingers were too bruised to still hold on to it.

 _Fuck,_ he had been so preoccupied with his knife that he had forgotten about Hoover. He whipped his head towards the other opponent angrily and froze. Not Hoover had knocked the knife from his hand but fucking. Eren. Jaeger. Levi was sure that he lost control over his facial features completely. Because that was the last thing he expected. He had trusted Eren, maybe not in his judgement but in his absolute hate against the titans. How could he have misjudged the kid so badly. He was standing there, hand still grasping Levi's wrist and working together with the people he seemingly hated the most. And the unsettled and maybe even partly guilty look on his face did absolutely nothing to lessen Levi's fury.

"You! You fucking bas-" Levi couldn't finish his outcry since Reiner used his apparent distraction to kick his feet from under him and sent Levi to the floor gasping. His nearly healed foot hurt like hell and he needed every ounce of composure to keep his scream in. The shifter was over him in a second and his breath was driven out at the considerable weight on him. Levi knew that he had lost. He was on his stomach and had no way to throw Reiner off, and there were two more titan shifters in the room, assuming that Hoover was one, too. He was gravely outnumbered. He seethed with anger at the betrayal, Eren's betrayal, and at his pain and helplessness. Reiner grabbed his neck in a chokehold, but Levi still managed to flash his eyes up towards Eren, grinding out "I will kill your traitorous ass, bastard."

Black spots began to swim in his vision and Eren, the gutless bastard, turned away. With alarm, Levi saw that the now recovered Hoover had produced a huge laundry bag for bedclothes. He had a rough idea what they wanted it for, and against better judgement, he tried with his last strength to wind out of the chokehold, but he only managed to bruise his neck and leg even more.

He felt the lack of oxygen take over, his body becoming weaker and weaker, and the titan shifter on his back held the chokehold relentlessly. The black spots had invaded his whole field of vision now, and his pure determination to stay awake couldn't keep him conscious anymore. With a defeated sigh, his eyes turned back in his head and his lids fell closed, leaving him in absolute darkness.

* * *

AN: Thanks for reading, and first a big sorry for not explaining the prologue and bringing even more confusion. I promise it will start to make sense after the next chapter. As you can see, this story deviates from canon, and I'm taking a few liberties with where the charakters are so that it makes more sense in the story. Thanks to everybody and the guests for reviewing, you keep me motivated. Please tell me if you liked this chapter or not, I have a rough outline of where this story is going, but I'm always open for inspiration :)


	3. Chapter 3

**Chapter 3**

Eren sat in his room, it was the same one he had woken up in after his fight with Annie. Well, it felt like it was a completely different one, since before, he had felt safe when Mikasa sat on the bench next to him. Now everything had changed. Eren clawed his hands into the red scarf again, and unclenched, because he had already marred the soft material with his fidgeting.

His whole world had shattered this day. He had become an accomplice to the kidnapping of a superior, hell, not any superior, but Captain Levi of all people.

Eren again loosened his fingers, he had inadvertently clenched the scarf again. He whimpered. How could all of this have happened so fast? The day had started so good, he had finally been cleared to partake in training again, and he had been so eager.

 _-O-O-O-O-O-O-_

 _The inner courtyard of the survey corps' base in Stohess was rather small, but with a clever system of switching between the ground and the air, the scout members made do for training. Eren couldn't wait to use his 3DMG again, he needed the air whipping around his head to clear it from the failed – or as everybody sugar coated it, partly failed – last mission._

 _When he adjusted his straps, Reiner and Berthold took him to the side. They wanted to talk about Annie, since they hadn't been part of the mission to capture her. Eren let them lead him to the side, he could understand that they wanted to know. Annie had been a squad member of theirs as well._

 _"_ _Eren," Reiner shoved him a bit further, placing him behind a barn, away from the sight of the other soldiers, "you need to stay calm after what I tell you, otherwise everyone is in danger."_

 _Eren was confused. He glanced towards Berthold who looked a bit more nervous than usual, but otherwise calm. He started to think that all of this wasn't about Annie._

 _Reiner sighed and moved in front of him, placing Eren awkwardly between the wall and the two tall soldiers._

 _"_ _We have Mikasa and Armin and if you do exactly as we tell you, we won't hurt them."_

 _"_ _You…What?!" Eren thought he misheard, but the serious faces of Reiner and Berthold spoke volumes. He tried again. "But…why? Reiner, Berthold, you're kidding, right?! So just tell me what's going on."_

 _He looked at his two peers, wide-eyed, but the amused smirks he dearly wished for didn't appear on their faces, they stayed dead serious._

 _This time, finally Berthold spoke, his eyes boring deep inside Eren's. "It's not a joke, we are serious. I am the Colossal Titan and Reiner is the Armored Titan, we were working together with Annie, but because of her capture, we had to alter our plans and resort to more extreme measures."_

 _Eren heard the words but he couldn't process the information. It was just too inconceivable. Finally, it began to sink in. Before him stood the worst spawns of humanity, the ones who destroyed wall Maria, who were responsible for the carnage in Shiganshina, for his mother's death and thousands of other people. And the worst of it, they had been disguised as comrades, as people Eren thought he could trust in._

 _"_ _You…traitors," he ground out, "I will kill you!" he brought his hand up towards his mouth, anger overwhelming everything._

 _But Reiner had watched him closely and quickly clamped a hand over his mouth, trapping Eren's arm with his other hand. He sighed, annoyed but still too damn calm._

 _"_ _Eren, did you already forget what we told you? We have Armin and Mikasa, and if you do anything stupid, or against us, anything suspicious at all, or if something happens to Berthold or me, they will die. I want you to actually understand the consequences if you try anything."_

 _Eren's breaths came heavily on the hand clamped around his mouth. That was just crazy. What the hell was happening? His mind raced for a solution, and his eyes looked for somebody, anybody around who could help him, but both came up empty._

 _Rainer waited until Eren's breaths came more regularly, and when he nodded, he slowly released Eren's hand and let go of his face. He waited a few seconds to see if he would call for help or do anything stupid, but he seemingly had calmed down._

 _Eren ground his teeth together. "How do I know you tell the truth? I saw Mikasa and Armin just this morning, they could be doing some chores or anything right now."_

 _"_ _Well," Berthold said, "you will have to believe us – and this," he pulled something out of his bag, a familiar red scarf that Eren knew all too well, and if possible, the knot his insides consisted of became even tighter. He extended a trembling hand towards the cloth and took it. It was Mikasa's. She would never willingly give it away._

 _"_ _Where are they? How did you even get them?"_

 _"_ _That's hardly important right now," Reiner not-answered him, "you just need to know that we had support from elsewhere, and that means, if anything happens to us, or if our secret comes out, they are dead."_

 _Eren was still completely overwhelmed, he didn't know what to do, so he just clawed his hands into the scarf and nodded. He didn't want Mikasa and Armin to die._

 _"_ _Okay, Eren." Reiner continued, „you can assure yourself that Armin and Mikasa are not around, but after that, I want you to get to your room and wait for us. We will come in the early afternoon and give you an assignment. If you do as we say, we let your friends go, simple as that._

 _Eren was in a state of complete shock. When he managed to tear his eyes from the retreating Titan Shifters, he ran to Mikasa's and Armin's quarters, finding them empty. Neither Jean nor Sasha had seen one of his friends, but Connie said that he had seen them with Berthold and Reiner, they had apparently been on the verge of making a run for supplies._

 _Eren didn't hear Connie's worried voice, asking him if everything was okay, when he dashed for his quarters. This was an absolute mess. Eren anxiously waited in his room, envisioning the worst things happening to Mikasa and Armin. And what could Reiner and Berthold possibly want from him? Did they want to take him with them like Annie wanted to? Or did they want his help regarding Annie? That must be it, they would want their comrade free after the Survey Corps had foiled their plans. They would want his help in freeing her.  
Eren also thought about telling somebody. But Mikasa and Armin, the people he trusted everything with, were the ones being kidnapped. And if he confided in Erwin or Levi, they would arrest the two shifters without a doubt. Eren knew from experience that they weighed lives against each other, and that capturing two titan shifters would be worth two dead recruits, even if one of them was one of the most promising cadets._

 _Eren shook his head, defeated. He would have to comply with the shifters, but after Mikasa and Armin would be free, he would have his revenge and kill them for everything they had done._

 _His door opened, and in strode the two traitors._

 _Reiner closed the door behind Berthold, inquiring gaze on Eren. "Did you calm down yet?"_

 _Instantly Eren's anger was back. "How can I stay calm after what you told me? You are mass murderers and traitors, and you kidnapped my two best friends!"_

 _"_ _Eren," Reiner continued, and Eren hated the nice and understanding tone in his voice, the one that had settled so many disputes among the 104th, "if you do as we say, you will get them back, and we'll be heading to our hometown outside the walls, so you'll be fine."_

 _Eren didn't believe it. Firstly, with the two of them still free, he would never be fine, and secondly, he didn't trust their word at all. But he had to play along, at least until he got Armin and Mikasa back._

 _He swallowed down his bile._

 _"_ _What do you want me to do?"_

 _-O-O-O-O-O-O-_

Eren once more had to disentangle his fingers from the fabric of Mikasa's scarf. His heavy breathing was much too loud in the eerie silence of the empty room.  
They had made him assist in the kidnapping of Captain Levi. Captain Levi, who had taken him under his wing, who had never been the fondest of Eren, but he had trusted in him, or at least in his hate against the titans, which was nearly comparative to his own.  
The absolute shock in the Captain's face when he disarmed him of his knife was one of the worst things he would ever remember. The normally tightly schooled expression of Levi had fallen apart, and Eren had seen his shock and disbelief at the utter betrayal.

Levi must believe that he had worked with the Titans from the beginning, that everything he did, his hate against the Titans, the whole chase for the female Titan, had been a play, a façade. Eren would never be able to pull something like this off, like Reiner or Berthold, but Levi would think that he was one of them. And that hurt him nearly more than the fear of losing Mikasa and Armin did. But he had made his decision, he had traded his two best friends for his Captain.

He could have saved Levi, by attacking Reiner and Berthold in Levi's office, or later, when they were back in his room, Berthold with the - in Eren's eyes more than suspiciously heavy - laundry bag containing the unconscious and battered Captain.

He had been on the brink of attacking them when they told him that they would release Mikasa and Armin in four days, to make sure there was enough time before anyone would try to follow them. Eren had to keep his secret until then and stay in Stohess.

He could have screamed for help at that point, rescued Levi and helped in fighting the Titan shifters with the Survey Corps, and they would have had a good chance with these many Scouts. But he would have signed Armin's and Mikasa's death warrant and he could never do that.

He asked them what they wanted the Captain for, but they wouldn't answer. They obviously wanted him alive and if they hadn't lied about going to their hometown, the only thing Eren could come up with was that they wanted him for questioning. Well, torture if he didn't sugar-coat it. That was the fourth time he nearly cracked and attacked the two shifters, but instead he surrendered.

And so, he had to live with what he had done, acting oblivious to Mikasa's, Armin's and Levi's disappearance. He ground his teeth together and realized that he had further damaged Mikasa's scarf with his pent-up fidgeting. He angrily laid it aside on the bench.  
Eren was not a good actor, but he had to manage, only for four days. Because if anyone, especially Erwin found out that he knew something, he would be relentless to find his second in command and Eren wasn't sure if he would be able to resist. He took a deep breath. He _had_ to manage. For Mikasa and Armin. And for Levi. Because he would get him back. He would find that town of Titan Shifters and rescue the Captain. Or die trying.


	4. Chapter 4

**Chapter 4**

Thundering in his head and ears. Relentless, constant thundering. His other senses slowly started to come back, the feeling of great danger ran through him like a shock, and his self-control immediately slammed into place, letting no sign of his slow awakening show to the outside.

He was uncomfortable all over, and when the pulsing pain in his head slowly disengaged from the thundering in his ears, and he realized that the shocks through his body came from under him, he knew what that meant _. He was on a horse!_ He kept his eyes shut and suppressed letting out a growl when he felt the arm across his stomach that held him in place. Even worse, his back was pressed against another person. _Berthold, Reiner or Eren!_ The fuckers had actually kidnapped him, _him_ , their superior officer! The sheer act of betrayal still hurt like a fresh wound.

Levi kept himself from crunching his teeth together. He remained limp as he realized that he was kept awkwardly on a horse in front of someone on a saddle that was clearly not made to be occupied by two people. To his annoyance he realized that his hands were bound in front of him. That made escaping even more difficult. He slowly opened his eyes. He could only see meadows behind the head of a horse, and his periphery was blocked by fabric. He recognized the color and the material. The bastards had put him in a survey corps cloak, most likely to hide his face and his bound hands from others. They had to be out of Stohess for quite a while, judging from the soreness of Levi's body.

He couldn't see a horse in front of him, but he could hear one to his left. So, one of the traitors had stayed behind in Stohess, most likely coming up with some lame ass excuse why the rest disappeared. There was no chance Erwin would believe anything about Levi's whereabouts, the Commander knew that his second in command would never do anything rash without informing him. He just hoped that whoever of the fuckers stayed behind would be captured without many casualties.

At least he only had to deal with two people. No, _soldiers_ , he corrected himself. Soldiers, that were Titan Shifters on top of all.  
He moved his left leg about half an inch. At least the Shifters were not the brightest, the dagger that he still felt in his boot confirmed that they hadn't searched him for any more weapons.

His eyes shifted downwards for a moment, not moving his head to still appear unconscious, but he could only see the green survey corps cloak. Levi remembered that he hadn't had his 3DMG on before, because his ankle was not yet healed, and he had planned to only do paperwork. He cursed himself for it. Without it, he had absolutely no chance against two Titan shifters. Maybe if he could get his hands on one of the horses –

His thoughts were cut short by a tightening of the arm around his waist. A low voice behind and slightly above him murmured. "I know you're awake, your breathing changed, so stop pretending. You can't escape. You're outnumbered, and although you are humanities strongest soldier, without your gear, you are no match against us."

It was Reiner behind him. It annoyed him to no end that he had come to the same hopeless conclusion that Levi himself had mere seconds before. Since he didn't have to pretend anymore, he pulled the cowl of his cloak back and turned his head towards the other horse that he heard and realized that it was Berthold riding it.

"Let go of me, you filthy traitor," Levi grabbed the horse's mane with his bound hands and shoved himself to the front of the saddle, bringing as much distance as possible between him and Reiner. It wasn't much. But at least the Titan shifter loosened his grip as he realized that Levi wouldn't fall off the horse. Levi inwardly scoffed. As if he needed help to stay in the saddle. Sure, it was uncomfortable as shit without stirrups, but everything was better than the close contact to the despicable shit behind him.

When he found a bearable position, he asked the question that had been on his tongue ever since he woke up.

"Where is Eren?" Because Levi desperately wanted to kill, no strangulate slowly or do something even worse to the traitor.

The man behind him just sighed. "It does hardly matter now, does it? But as you see, he's not coming with us."

That didn't answer anything, but at least he didn't outrightly refuse to reply. Levi decided to push forward.

"How long have you worked together with him?" And Levi really needed the answer to that one, for a small part of him still hoped that Eren hadn't worked with them for long. It was a trifle, but it would still mean that Levi's judgement wasn't as badly compromised as he feared it was.

Regrettably, the Titan shifter knew exactly what was going on in his head. He chuckled softly.

"You'd like me to say that we just started our cooperation shortly, don't you? But that's not true, we worked together ever since we met each other in the Training Corps and realized we were all shifters."

So Eren knew about his shifting abilities, he just acted as if it had been something new. Most likely the story about his mother was invented, too. Levi ground his teeth together. Damn him, he had lost his squad to protect the little shit, had risked his life to save him from Annie, and all for nothing. His grip on the horse's mane tightened. All the loss and sorrow. His squad could still be alive if he hadn't decided to take Eren under his wing. Once again, his standpoint to never have regrets wavered. He quickly thought of something else because that thought would lead down a dark spiral of self-reproach and this was certainly not the right time for it. What about Mikasa and Armin? Were they on Eren's side? They had to be, they always stuck together and Levi couldn't imagine Eren keeping such a big secret from them.

But that didn't make sense. It was still bothering him. Could he trust Reiner to tell the truth? Discouraging someone was a viable option if you wanted to interrogate someone, Levi knew that from experience. Was the shifter beginning to get to him? Or did Levi just cling too much to the hope that his judgement hadn't been wrong still?  
He wouldn't get an answer to that yet. But there was another question that he badly needed an answer to.

"So, what the hell did you kidnap me for? I doubt it's because of the good company," he snorted.

"No, you just fit best into the laundry bag," Levi could hear the smirk in the voice behind him, and with horror, the pictures shortly before he lost consciousness came back. Those fuckers had had the audacity to carry him around the base in a laundry bag. He'd kill them for it, as well as to make sure that nobody would ever hear the story. If Erwin or god forbid Hanji got wind of it, he would never hear the end of it.

"Where are we going?" Levi decided to ignore and press on. They were heading to the east, and Levi had the assumption that they would head towards Karanese, to get outside of wall Rose, but he wanted confirmation.

"You'll see when we get there," Reiner's non-answers annoyed Levi to no end, so he fell into silence. Berthold to their left had obviously seen them speak but didn't draw nearer to partake in their conversation. The tall boy was wearing 3DMG and Levi immediately thought of some way he could get his hands on it, but it was hopeless. They were two, and they were Titan shifters, for fuck's sake. Even if he blindsided one of them, he would never have the time to undo the straps and put them on himself.

Levi could see Wall Rose in the distance, they were not travelling on the main road, obviously to not run into too many other people. But if Levi was right, there was a small town that had an outpost of the Garrison attached not far away. The outpost was just for storing goods on the way from one wall to the other, but the cannon and railway system needed constant maintenance, and the chances of there being a squad of Garrison Soldiers were not too bad. If he reached them he might get a set of gear or could at least alarm someone of the situation.

Levi decided to make his move now, his situation was shit and his chances were tiny at best, but he wouldn't get anything better, so he would raise them hell for capturing him like that.

He dug his bound hands deep into the horse's mane, shifting more of his weight on his hands. Berthold had fallen a bit further to the side and Levi, in one fluid movement, put his whole weight on his hands, shoved his upper body forward to get more room between him and Reiner, and kicked both of his feet back with as much strength as he could muster. And that was a lot.

His injured foot protested angrily as it collided with Reiner's massive chest, but the shifter was caught completely by surprise and had nothing to hold on to. With an almost comical grab in the air, the blonde flew backwards off the horse. Levi thanked all the gods that the horse was a stolen Survey Corps horse and was therefore used to losing a rider in the middle of a fight.

Levi fell into the saddle himself, cursing for a moment that he was too short to reach the stirrups, but pressed his thighs into the horse's flank, spurring it on.

Behind him, he heard the thump of a body, followed by angry curses. Berthold had slowed down, obviously torn between helping Reiner and going after Levi. That fortunately gave Levi a head start. Now he would have to reach the outpost and hope that someone was there. He really needed a set of 3DMG.

Reiner must have dismissed Berthold, for the tall shifter now galloped towards Levi. If they tried to stay inconspicuous they wouldn't risk shifting. Levi relied on that. On the other hand, should they shift they might easily recapture him, but they would certainly be spotted by someone. No way Titans inside the wall near a village wouldn't draw any attention. Just as the thought passed him, he heard a loud crack behind him and his hair was blown forward in a hot gush of wind. _Shit!_

The horse neighed in panic and Levi clutched at the animal's mane to not get discharged by the writhing animal. He managed to stay in the saddle, and the horse moved on, it's instinct to get away from the Titan bigger than the wish to get rid of its rider.

Levi risked a look back. Berthold was still on the chase, but he didn't draw nearer yet. However further back, enveloped by steam, stood a massive hulk of a Titan. It was not that impressive in sheer size, it measured around fifteen meters, but its human physicality and raw muscles, just like the ones of his human counterpart, spoke of pure strength.

Levi had only heard stories of the armoured Titan breaking straight through the inner gate in Shiganshina, but seeing Reiner's Titan, he believed it without a doubt. Levi would have given anything to have his 3DMG on right now, he'd like nothing more than give the abomination behind him the fight of his life and find the weakness between the golden armoured plates he was wearing.

He looked forward again. The town was not very far, but with the Titan behind him, he might cause a massacre if he rode straight into it. He didn't want to risk that. It would have to suffice to gallop near the town and alert someone, so word would spread out and the right people – the Scouts – would be alarmed. Levi would instead head for Karanese. Karanese was about two hours from where he was, but as a border city, there would be enough defenses and stationed soldiers to have a good chance against the Titan. Annie's Titan had just been as fast as the Survey Corps horses and Levi doubted that Reiner's Titan with his heavy armour plates would be any faster. Levi's horse would hold out, it was a reliable Survey Corps horse.

He changed direction a bit and risked another look behind. He shouldn't have done it.

The armoured Titan hadn't moved yet, but he had gone into a sprinter's stance. Despite the distance, Levi felt the ground thunder as the Titan started his run. Plates of armour landed on the grass and Levi realized that Reiner had shed parts of his armour to be faster. And fast he was. Much faster than Annie's Titan had been. He was already closing in on Berthold. If Reiner could keep this speed up, Levi had no chance. He looked around once again, but there were only plain meadows, nothing to hide or get away. Even if he changed course now, he wouldn't reach the town before the Titan would get to him.

For a second Levi pondered if he should slice his horse's throat with the dagger he still carried in his boot, to slow their progress down by shortening them of one mount. But he couldn't bring himself to kill the poor animal. Instead he applied even more pressure with his thighs, however the horse couldn't go any faster, it was already giving everything it had. It wanted to get away from the Titan as much as Levi.

When the thundering steps reached him, he pressed his body as closely to the horse as he could, counting on Reiner not wanting to injure the animal. A hard thrust at his neck and upper body drove the air out of his lungs and he gasped for breath as and he saw the horse run away under him. He was lifted into the air by fingers that surprisingly delicately had taken him up by the clothes on his back. Before he could do anything to free himself, another hand clasped his body, not helping at all with his breathing issues. He tried to wriggle out, but he knew that it was hopeless. When the giant hand tightened in warning, he ceased his struggles, looking up at the angled face of the armoured Titan. Despite his knowledge of the limited facial expressions of Titans, Levi could swear that he had a damn angered look on his face. And the steam coming out of his mouth as the plates shifted to reveal the orifice didn't help at all.

The Titan's other hand came back towards Levi and that was when fear hit him. He was completely helpless and trapped in the hand of a giant Titan - an intelligent Titan no less – who he just majorly pissed off with his escape attempt. He had no time to contemplate further when the big thumb and index finger grabbed his arms, which were still bound together. The Titan slowly moved his hands apart, and Levi cried out when his body was stretched to the maximum in the unrelenting grasp.

Would the Titan really tear him apart? Had the risk of keeping him become bigger than the benefits they might get of his capture? Levi's joints creaked when the strain became even stronger. He didn't want to die like that, in a disgusting bloody mess, but there was nothing he could do. He screamed when his right shoulder popped from its socket with a sick sound and an incredible amount of pain. Reiner continued tearing and Levi nearly passed out with the pain straining his arm even further. He only slightly registered the second pop when his other arm was also dislocated, the pain washing over him in dull apathy. He just hoped to fall unconscious before he died, he didn't want to see his limbs getting torn apart.

The next thing he registered was a hit to his back, and since that didn't make sense, his mind and eyes slowly focused again, hindered by the still massive pain in his arms.

Levi blinked a few times – was that moisture in his eyes? – and realized he was sprawled on the grass, obviously still alive. He slowly sat up without using his uselessly dangling arms, and his mind was still trying to grasp the concept of him still being alive.

"Stop. Don't move any further." The voice, and more importantly the blade that hovered in front of his face, finally brought him back to reality.

Berthold had caught Levi's horse and was now obviously guarding him. The Captain looked to the side and saw Reiner's Titan kneel on the grass a few meters to his right, steam billowing around it. Reiner had already disengaged and climbed effortlessly down, making Levi wonder what the hell Eren was doing wrong, the boy was always half dead coming out of his Titan.

Reiner approached them, and he looked majorly pissed. Levi knew exactly who the anger would be directed at, and he slammed his unimpressed façade in place, letting none of his discomfort show.

Reiner reached the two and Levi was greeted with a kick to his stomach, sprawling him on his back once again and reigniting the angry pain in his arms. Levi couldn't even bring up his arms to protect his body, they would just spasm uselessly and hurt like a bitch. However, Reiner didn't attack him any further.

"You damn idiot. You think your little stunt had any chance of success? Now we have to move even faster!" The last sentence was directed at Levi and Berthold, but before Berthold could say something, Levi responded.

"As long as I held you up, I count it as a success." His voice was raspier than he'd like, and he and Reiner stared at each other angrily, none of them wanting to be the first to look away.

Berthold cleaned his throat and put his sword back into the sheath releasing it from the 3DMG-handle. "We should keep going, somebody might have seen the steam."

Reiner grunted in answer, but his angry gaze didn't leave Levi. He hated the helpless position on his back, but without being able to use his arms, he couldn't do much.

Out of the corner of his eye, he saw Berthold produce something shining from the damned duffel bag that he was still carrying.

"We can't ride through the gate with him like that, he will do everything to expose us."

Reiner grunted again in agreement, and when Berthold stepped towards Levi, he saw that the evening light reflected off a syringe in his hand. Levi's breaths grew heavier, throat constricting. If they drugged him he wouldn't be able to do anything. He desperately searched for a way to escape it, but he only came up with one dumb idea.

He would strike for the syringe with his feet, trying to destroy it. Berthold reached the range of his legs, but the shifter was even taller than Erwin, so his chances were very slim. Just when he was about to strike, a boot slammed down on his legs. Reiner had seen through him and thwarted his shit plan. Berthold had meanwhile kneeled down to his left, and every squirming in the world couldn't bring Levi out of the syringe's reach. Berthold held his head in place and a sharp pain followed by dull pressure was at his neck. Levi silently cursed the shifters and his own inability to escape the fuckers when a strange warmth spread through him, numbing everything out and finally plunging him in darkness again.

* * *

AN: Oh no, poor Levi. So, finally another Chapter. Thanks to everyone who reviewed and followed this story, you really keep me motivated!


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